Echo (Final Fantasy XIV)
The Echo is a special ability that some rare individuals possess in Final Fantasy XIV. The Students of Baldesion is a Sharlayan institute devoted to studying the Echo and its connection to the "Rejoining" phenomena. Those who have been "gifted", as the members of the Path of the Twelve call it, can resonate with other people's souls—and see their past, albeit not able to interfere or change it—as well as being able to speak every language in the world. The Echo prevents its user from being tempered by primals, and advanced users can transcend their mortal forms. Nature In truth, Echo is a fraction of the power of an Ascian, a residual power that normally rests within all life in the Source and its reflections. Those who awaken to Echo often experience a vision of a star-shower falling from a burning sky. They hear Hydaelyn's voice, assuming the Echo was bestowed on them by the goddess, rather than her stirring the memory of a past life. As a result, many assume that those who possess the Echo appear whenever a Calamity draws near, which came to pass with the fall of Dalamud in the Seventh Umbral Era. Echo's most profound ability is viewing memories of another being. This occurs without the user's control, but can yield information they would not obtain otherwise. These visions can even be from millennia ago, as the Warrior of Light once witnesses an event from Emperor Xande's life in the Third Astral Era. A more subtle effect is the implicit understanding of languages. The Warrior of Light understands foreign languages, shown to the player with altered dialogue boxes. The most obvious instance of this is whenever Ascians speak. Echo users are immune to primals' tempering, and thus only those blessed by the Echo can fight them. Zenos yae Galvus implies this ability is more than mere "resistance" to primals, as he can fuse with and take over Shinryu with the power of the Echo, and Ysayle Dangoulain can summon Shiva with her own body as the vessel and control her powers. The exact powers granted by the Echo vary in utility and potency; Krile can sense the traces of a person's soul, and even track it through the Lifestream through a potent enough focus. Fordola rem Lupis's Echo seems to give her limited clairvoyance via detecting minor shifts in the aether of others that allows her to perfectly predict and avoid enemy attacks. Some users have exhibited the power of metempsychosis; a Sahagin Priest restructured himself by entering the bodies of fellow Sahagin despite being mortally wounded by Merlwyb Bloefhiswyn. It is implied this is the principle by which Ascians manifest in Hydaelyn. Lahabrea and Igeyorhm also use the Echo to fuse into a more powerful form, called Ascian Prime. Story ''Final Fantasy XIV'' Legacy The Warrior of Light awakened their ability to use Echo upon seeing a Starshower Hydaelyn conjured prior to being invited to the Merchant Wards of Ul'dah to join the Path of the Twelve. The true nature and origins of the Echo were unknown, but according to Ifrit, there was a deity who gave the power of Echo to everyone who currently had it, but not even he knew who the deity is. Anyone who possessed the Echo was branded as a beastman by Garlemald, and therefore was considered an enemy of the Empire. ''Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn The Echo is linked to the mothercrystal, Hydaelyn. The Warrior of Light discovers an affinity with the Echo after finding the first Crystal of Light complete with a vision of the starshower. They soon witness visions of the Scion they had encountered. During their quest, the Warrior of Light has various visions depicting the past, such as the leaders of Eorzea at the Battle of Carteneau, or the steps that led to an altercation in Ul'dah. This trait leads to them being invited to the Scions of the Seventh Dawn, the successor organization to the Path of the Twelve. Minfilia Warde, and later the Warrior of Light, are approached by a white-robed Ascian named Elidibus, who claims the Echo is a gift that the Warrior has yet to master, and in time it may allow them to see the Ascians for who they really are. He further implores them to understand the true nature of the Echo. Taking Elidibus's words into consideration about "the true nature of the Echo," Minfilia accompanies Merlwyb Bloefhiswyn and the other Scions to the Sahagin's spawning grounds after learning they mean to summon Leviathan. During the ritual to summon the Lord of the Whorls, they witness the Sahagin Priest has achieved an advanced stage of the Echo that enables him to enter the bodies of his fellow Sahagin upon death, only to be absorbed by the newly awakened primal. Later, Ysayle Dangoulain, another bearer of the Echo, channels the primal Shiva into her body and transforms into the Lady of Frost. Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward The Ascians reveal that they can use the Echo to combine into Ascian Primes. Lahabrea refers to Echo as the "power to break the barriers of existence". Similar to the Sahagin Priest, he ends up being absorbed by the primal King Thordan once he's struck down. Krile reveals she possesses the Echo, and can trace aetheric signatures. When confronting the Warriors of Darkness at Lost ast Gnath, Krile and the Warrior of Light have a simultaneous Echo vision of the mysterious party confronting an Ascian. It is implied the group conversely had an Echo vision of the Warrior of Light. Unukalhai later confides to the Warrior of Light that he possesses an ability similar to the Echo. Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood After the attack on Rhalgr's Reach, Krile is captured by the Empire and used in several experiments meant to artificially give regular humans the powers of the Echo, allowing pure-blooded Garleans to manipulate aether. Aulus mal Asina chooses Fordola rem Lupis as a guinea pig, both to test the procedure and to see its effect on a non Garlean; the experiment turns Fordola into a so called "Resonant", able to use the powers of the Echo via artificial means. Fordola becomes able to feel minor changes in the aether of others, giving her the ability to predict and avoid any attacks, making her practically invincible in combat, easily defeating Lyse Hext and Alisaie Leveilleur despite never having fought a Red Mage before. Urianger Augurelt makes a device that allows the Warrior of Light to temporarily disrupt Fordola's aether, allowing her to be defeated and captured. After being defeated at Ala Mhigo, Zenos yae Galvus reveals he also has the power of the Echo. He tells the Warrior of Light the Scions have no idea about the full extent of its power, and uses his Echo to fuse with Shinryu, taking control of the primal dragon and attacking the Warrior of Light's party. List of known characters with the Echo *The Warrior of Light *The Warriors of Darkness *The Ascians *Minfilia Warde *Ysayle Dangoulain *Krile Mayer Baldesion *Unukalhai *Arenvald Lentinus *Tenzen *Unnamed sahagin priest *Fordola rem Lupis (artificial) *Zenos yae Galvus (artificial) Gameplay In addition to its plot significance, the Echo is a gameplay mechanic applied to instanced duties in certain cases. This Echo boost augments all stats granted with the following conditions: *In the event a solo instanced duty is failed, an Echo bonus will be applied when trying again. *For trials, an Echo bonus may be applied to the party in the event of a wipe, up to five times. This bonus is either a 5% or 10% boost (per increment). *For older raid content, the Echo is a fixed bonus automatically applied to the party. The strength of the Echo varies based on duty, and will not increase. In most cases, the Echo is only applied to content in subsequent version updates. The Echo only affects the players' attributes; it has no effect on fight mechanics. The player can turn it off like any other buff if they wish to take on the duty without the extra help. The power of the Echo is the implied lore explanation for several gameplay mechanics; for example, the player's ability to see enemy cast times and attack targets is due to the Echo's ability to read others' aetherial flow, as displayed by Fordola Rem Lupis after becoming a Resonant. The ability to retry a battle after being defeated is also linked to the Echo, as the Warriors of Darkness use it to revive and continue fighting when facing the Warrior of Light, even gaining the same Echo buff the player obtains after their first defeat. In the original launch release, the power of the Echo was used in most class quests. Even if the player reached rank 20, they were unable to begin any class quest before finishing the fourth main storyline quest. Other appearances Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade'' FFAB The Echo - Minfilia UR+.png|UR+. FFAB The Echo - Minfilia Legend UR.png|UR Legend. FFAB The Echo - Minfilia Legend UR+.png|UR+ Legend. es:Eco (Final Fantasy XIV) pt-br:Echo Category:Final Fantasy XIV